Level 3

I met a friend for lunch in downtown Portland today.

Anyone familiar with downtown Portland is painfully aware of a serious problem there: Parking.

I had already planned which parking garage I was going to use, and I was able to find a spot after driving up and up and up....

After parking, I found the stairwell so I could walk down to the street level. The sign next to the stairwell advised me to remember my parking level: Level 3. Got it.

Lunch was delightful and I eventually made my way back to the parking garage. I wasn't able to enter by the same door I left (it was an "exit" only door), but I wasn't too worried. I had, after all, remembered my parking level.

I walked up the stairwell to Level 3 and walked to where I thought my car would be.

Problem....

The stairwell I walked up was on the opposite side of the garage than the one I had walked down previously. So, my car wasn't there. But I could see the "level" of Level 3 I believed it was on. Except I couldn't easily get there from where I was.

So I retraced my steps back to the stairwell and walked in the opposite direction up and up and up... and eventually found my car.

Then I drove down and down and down and down and down and down (it definitely seemed longer than when I drove up and up and up). I eventually made it to the garage exit, where I paid my fee. Credit cards only, no cash payments.

Portland, parking, problem, payment.... A summary of my Level 3 day!